Nissan is to raise the price of its Leaf electric vehicle in Europe, it confirmed February 23.

The Japanese automaker, which makes one of the world's first electric cars, is upping the UK retail price by £2,000 (€2,360) from March 1, pushing it to £30,990 (around €36,640).

The price will also raise by €2,151 in the Netherlands on March 1, making the new price €37,141, and prices in Ireland and Portugal are "currently being reviewed."

A Nissan UK spokesperson told Relaxnews that the price rise was "unavoidable," adding that it was mainly due to the rapid fall in the value of the pound against the Japanese yen.

Although the Leaf is eligible for incentives which take £5,000 (€5,910) off the purchase price in Britain, the hike will leave the vehicle more expensive than the present price of the Mitsubishi i-MiEV, which is sold at £28,990 (€34,275) without incentives.

The hike pushes the price nearer to that of the Vauxhall Ampera, which is priced far higher than the Leaf in the US (sold as the Chevrolet Volt), and costs £33,995 (€40,190) in Britain and €42,900 in Europe.

Nissan has experienced something of a rough launch for the Leaf, with early enthusiasm overshadowed by distribution shortages as the automaker struggles to fulfil higher-than-expected demand.

With tens of thousands of the vehicles pre-ordered in the US, Europe and Japan, the firm has been accused of keeping buyers waiting longer than they expected for their cars, leading to some angry customers around the world, if the posts on the MyNissanLeaf forums are anything to go by.

United Kingdom buyers who have already put down a deposit for their car will be charged the pre-increase price, reports All Cars Electric.